Rooney had another ineffective performance in the lone main strike role for England in the 1-0 midweek defeat against France in Paris.

But the new England manager is unconcerned that while Rooney has scored 74 times in 180 matches in total for Manchester United he has hit the net just five times in 25 matches for his country in the same period and just twice if you count only competitive internationals.

Capello said: "He's just as happy to play in this role for England as he is for Manchester United.

"The main difference is that for Manchester United he is playing in a team which has been playing together for three years. We have only just started playing together."

Not quite true, Fabio.

In fact, Rooney was one of eight players who began the match against France who had also started the World Cup quarter-final defeat against Portugal in 2006.

In that respect the failed stars of Sven-Goran Eriksson are now alive and kicking with just about as much success as they were almost two years ago.

Capello, unsurprisingly but conveniently, has drawn a line in the sand where the past is concerned.

"He has played two games for me," said Capello. "Whatever happened before is not for me to say. I am happy about the way he played two games for me. It is much harder to score for your country than it is for your club.

"This is why, and I'm not talking about Wayne Rooney now, although some players play very well for their clubs they are not good enough to play for their national teams."

Capello, of course, has had precious little time to work with the players and he was always going to experiment in his first few friendlies in the knowledge that the important job comes in September. On top of that a defeat against a handy French team in Paris is hardly cause for despair.

The fact, however, is that there is no sign of creation, little sign too that a structure is developing to excite England's loyal fans.

It was an observation which pricked Capello's pride.

"I beg to differ," he said. "I saw a team that played and fought until the end. I am creating the team and drawing conclusions and getting ideas from what I see.

"We live in a free country so you can judge me as much as you like. But I think I should try and test things. It is too easy not to experiment."

One of the main disappointments of Wednesday night was England's lack of tempo, although that could be a building brick in Capello's grand plan.

The main thrust of his influence so far has been to try to eradicate England's frantic resort to the long ball, which has been their comfort blanket of preference for some time.

Going cold turkey rarely makes for exciting watching but, it may pay off in the end, although Capello does not accept that he has to change England's footballing culture.

"I don't need to," he said. "My colleagues are doing it already. Arsenal are doing it. I've seen Tottenham play with the ball on the park. I've seen Portsmouth where (Harry) Redknapp has said 'enough with long balls.' I've seen Aston Villa and Everton, they try to play.

"I'm happy because we made steps forward. We started to play football, not just long punts forward. We will carry on like that.

"We have players who can inject tempo and we could have played at a higher pace if we wanted to but it's a case of doing it when it is needed."

As for entertaining the fans we should remember that Capello is Italian with a preference for holding midfield players. You get with him exactly what it says on the tin.

So to those already demanding more entertainment for their ticket price, he has a ready-made answer.

He said: "You only win if you play well. If you don't play well you don't win, simple as that. Luck can win you one game but results in the long run only come if you have a good system.

"I'm sure we are a good team and we will be competitive. This is the main positive. I am hoping we will be ready by August 20 when we play the last friendly game."

That is against the Czech Republic at Wembley and comes before the crucial World Cup qualifiers against Andorra at Wembley on September 6 and Croatia away on September 10.

Will Capello's England be battle-honed by then?

"We need to be. We must be," said Capello. No-one was arguing with that.